Saomai's trail of shattered lives

The destructive power of Typhoon Saomai, which claimed hundreds of lives and wiped out thousands of homes as it swept through Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, was a reminder of how powerless humans are in the face of nature's forces. And the aftermath of the storm is far from over.

Gusting at 270km/h, Saomai is the strongest typhoon to hit China since 1956. When it struck on August 10, it pounded buildings with a force of 250 kilograms per square metre, enough to knock down all but the sturdiest structure, said a mainland climate expert from Zhejiang.

The death toll rose to 441 yesterday after more bodies were found. Corpses are being discovered daily. Up to 4 million people are believed to have lost their homes.

In Shacheng, the port of Fuding city, in Fujian, the worst hit area, officials earlier reported 218 dead and 74 missing. Locals insist the number of casualties is much higher.

'This is the strongest typhoon many of us have seen in our lifetime. We are still an underdeveloped region and our facilities and resources are limited. We did what we could, but this is a natural disaster,' said Wang Dongmin, a village party secretary in Shacheng.

If a superpower like the US can have a major city like New Orleans humbled by Hurricane Katrina, what could have been done to protect the fishermen's wooden huts against nature's fiercest tempest? As Shacheng residents start to pick up the pieces after their initial shock and grief, more and more are questioning whether authorities were well-enough prepared to cope with the typhoon and how effective the rescue efforts were.